May 21, 2019

Geneva: The challenge of containing Ebola at the center of World Health Assembly

The Congolese authorities confirmed this Tuesday, May 21 in Geneva the complexity of the situation and especially the insecurity that undermines the fight against Ebola in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri. They made this statement on the sidelines of the 72nd World Health Assembly (WHA), which has been held in Geneva since Monday, May 20th.

During a meeting this Tuesday of the AMS Committee, Kinshasa and officials of the World Health Organization (WHO) have recognized that the security challenge complicates the fight against the spread of the Ebola virus.

"What is delaying the elimination of this epidemic is in fact the problems related to the security environment and violence, but also the internal problems related to the response," said Dr. Oly Ilunga, Minister of Health of the DRC.

According to the Director General of WHO, the outbreak is still going on, not that they do not have the tools or skills needed.

But "the epidemic continues because we can not get regular access to the communities where we have to finish this work," insisted Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

He worried about the "very high risk of spread" of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

"So far, this outbreak has not spread beyond two provinces," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, pointing out, however, that the number of new cases has risen sharply in recent weeks.

According to the WHO chief, this outbreak in eastern DRC is one of the most complex emergencies ever encountered by the organization.

"We are fighting one of the most dangerous viruses in the world in one of the most dangerous regions in the world," he told the member states present at the 72nd Assembly of WHO, the supreme decision-making body in the world. this specialized agency of the UN.

Since the beginning of the Ebola epidemic, which has been raging for nine months in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the cumulative number of cases is 1,826 cases (1,738 confirmed and 88 probable) and 1,218 deaths of which 1,130 confirmed and 88 probable. Even if we are still far from the 11,000 deaths caused by a similar epidemic that ravaged Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea between 2014 and 2016, the evolution of the disease worries.

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The Congolese authorities confirmed this Tuesday, May 21 in Geneva the complexity of the situation and especially the insecurity that undermines the fight against Ebola in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri. They made this statement on the sidelines of the 72nd World Health Assembly (WHA), which has been held in Geneva since Monday, May 20th.

During a meeting this Tuesday of the AMS Committee, Kinshasa and officials of the World Health Organization (WHO) have recognized that the security challenge complicates the fight against the spread of the Ebola virus.

"What is delaying the elimination of this epidemic is in fact the problems related to the security environment and violence, but also the internal problems related to the response," said Dr. Oly Ilunga, Minister of Health of the DRC.

According to the Director General of WHO, the outbreak is still going on, not that they do not have the tools or skills needed.

But "the epidemic continues because we can not get regular access to the communities where we have to finish this work," insisted Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

He worried about the "very high risk of spread" of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

"So far, this outbreak has not spread beyond two provinces," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, pointing out, however, that the number of new cases has risen sharply in recent weeks.

According to the WHO chief, this outbreak in eastern DRC is one of the most complex emergencies ever encountered by the organization.

"We are fighting one of the most dangerous viruses in the world in one of the most dangerous regions in the world," he told the member states present at the 72nd Assembly of WHO, the supreme decision-making body in the world. this specialized agency of the UN.

Since the beginning of the Ebola epidemic, which has been raging for nine months in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the cumulative number of cases is 1,826 cases (1,738 confirmed and 88 probable) and 1,218 deaths of which 1,130 confirmed and 88 probable. Even if we are still far from the 11,000 deaths caused by a similar epidemic that ravaged Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea between 2014 and 2016, the evolution of the disease worries.